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Early Projections On 2012-13 Roster

05/10/2012 9:58 AM - Mike Peck

Now that we’re in the offseason, it’s never too early to look ahead to what might be for the Rockford IceHogs lineup in 2012-13.

Like 2011-12, there will be a very solid core group of players back for a follow up year in Rockford. Before you say “here we go again”, let me preface this by saying that this is a good thing.

A lot of the returnees will be entering their third year in professional hockey. The third year seems to be the best season in the maturation process for AHL players, at least the ones that we’ve seen come through here.

The likes of Jack Dowell, Jack Skille, Troy Brouwer, Dustin Byfuglien, Jordan Hendry and Colin Fraser all really seemed to settle in, in their third season of professional hockey.

In 2012-13, the likes of Brandon Pirri, Ryan Stanton, Shawn Lalonde, Kyle Beach, Jeremy Morin, Ben Smith and Pete LeBlanc will all be in their third season. That list doesn’t count Carter Hutton, Brandon Bollig and Dylan Olsen who all could see time in Rockford.

So the core of the IceHogs should be on the cusp of spending some time with the Blackhawks next year. But remember, with the numbers in Chicago, most of these guys will be back in Rockford.

Before I get into my projection for Rockford’s lineup, some of this is under the assumption that Bollig, Smith and Hutton all get re-signed by the Hawks. To check out the contract situation for IceHogs players from 2011-12, click here.

Let’s start with the forwards:
Jeremy Morin-Brandon Pirri-Jimmy Hayes
Free Agent-Peter LeBlanc-Ben Smith
Philippe Paradis-Rob Flick-Free Agent
Terry Broadhurst -Byron Froese-Free Agent/David Gilbert

Other possibilities: Brandon Bollig, Brandon Saad and up to two other draft picks/free agents

Looking at the situation in Chicago, barring any trades this offseason (which is a possibility), the Blackhawks have 11 forwards under contract for next season not counting Hayes, as I have him projected to be back next fall to at least start the season in Rockford.

This number doesn’t include Bollig (who needs a contract) or Saad who will make a push to earn a roster spot in September. Also not included in this number are possible free agent signees for the Hawks who will have nearly $7-million of cap space to work with.

With Smith coming off of his hip surgery, he’ll more than likely start the season in Rockford as he’ll be behind a little bit after getting a late start on his summer training. Although with Smith and his work ethic, he has a tendency of exceeding expectations!

Rostislav Olesz is another possibility in the lineup, but more than likely not to start the season as his injury from the end of ’11-12 will keep him on the sideline for a bit 2012-13.

Defensemen:
Stanton-Free Agent
Youds-Lavin
Lalonde-Free Agent

Other possibilities: Dylan Olsen, a draft pick or two free agents

Like Hayes, Olsen could find himself in Rockford to start the season. With Olsen, Chicago has six defensemen locked up for next season. It’s a good bet that a lot of that extra cash under the cap will be used on a d-man or two, ultimately bumping him back down to the AHL.

It’s not a slight on Hayes or Olsen if they start and spend a significant amount of time in Rockford next year. It’s the nature of the development process and could really benefit them in the long run.

Also keep in mind, where I have listed “free agent”, don’t count out guys like Brandon Svendsen or a Brian Fahey in that category.

Goaltending:
Hutton
Salak

A position that has really been a liability coming into the last two seasons could be a huge strength. Hutton isn’t signed yet, but if he is, the Hawks would have him, Alexander Salak and Alec Richards all under contract for next season. That doesn’t even count Kent Simpson who is another possibility.

If the above projection is accurate, there will be 16 returning players from the 2011-12 squad next fall (including Broadhurst, who played in eight games). Compared to last season, Rockford had 19 players play in both 2010-11 and 2011-12, including Wade Brookbank, who came out of retirement in February.

If teams come out of camp healthy, they’ll typically carry 22 to 23 players (14 forwards, 7 defensemen and 2 goalies). That means there are about six or seven spots for fresh faces on next season’s roster.

I’m sure a couple of the free agent spots will be taken by draft picks or skaters from prospect camp, but I’d like to see a veteran, Fahey-type defenseman signed and two solid veteran forwards added as well.

Podcast With Dave Schmidt

05/07/2012 3:40 PM - Mike Peck

Here is a link for a podcast I did with Dave Schmidt back in January. (Click Here) Dave did a few of these this season and they were a lot of fun! If you click on the link, you can listen to the others he did with Brandon Bollig, Jeremy Morin, Carter Hutton, Brandon Segal and Brian Connelly.

R.I.P. Jimmy

05/07/2012 12:49 PM - Mike Peck

We lost an inspirational member of the organization on Sunday when Jimmy Newcomer succumbed to a rare form of cancer of the bile ducts.

Diagnosed in December, Jimmy was given just a week to live in mid-January, but battled until May 6! Jimmy provided inspiration for several members of the IceHogs team and front office over the past five months.

I’m not going to claim to know Jimmy personally, but I can tell you that he made an impact on everyone here that he came in contact with. And in the community. Back in February, Texas Roadhouse held a benefit for him and that place was packed from about 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Hopefully the IceHogs were a good escape for him during his fight and it was a pleasure getting the opportunity to see how someone like Jimmy impacted so many.

You will be missed Jimmy.

Long Overdue Season Recap

04/25/2012 3:43 PM - Mike Peck

Sorry for the delay on this end of season commentary for the IceHogs (not that you want to hear excuses), but we did some recap stuff here and I bolted out of dodge for a few days for a little recharge before another long summer.

I don’t always put together a “Report Card”, but here is one for the 2011-12 season.

Offense: B-

The IceHogs began the season as a high octane offense. Through 28 games, Rockford had the highest scoring offense in the Western Conference and 6th best overall in the AHL at 3.18 goals per game. The team finished the first half averaging 3.08 goals per contest but scored 27 fewer goals in the second half (90) than the first (117).

But I didn’t give the team a B- because of the second half fall off in goal production. That was a byproduct of the coaching staff switching up the style of play to a more defensive minded approach. That grade reflects more the team’s inability to capitalize on a lot of grade “A” opportunities that I think cost them a few games throughout the course of the season, specifically in the first half of the campaign.

Overall, Rockford averaged 2.72 goals per outing, good for 19th in the AHL.

Defense: B

The IceHogs team defense was a mess at the start of the season. Not only from keeping the puck out of the net, but breakouts were a circus at times. The neutral zone was an adventure as well. This just isn’t pinned on the blueliners either. The forwards need to take some heat for this.

Adjustments, however, were made and the team turned into one of the best defensive clubs in the Western Conference in 2012. A conscience decision to focus on defense in all three zones, including a solid forecheck in the offensive zone, resulted in a much more competitive hockey team.

After the trade of Brian Connelly, d-men Brian Fahey, Joe Lavin, Ryan Stanton and Ben Youds played in every game with the exception of the April 10 game missed by Fahey (paternity). Those four were great cornerstones for the team down the stretch on the back end.

Goaltending: B-

Again, this is looking at the entire season and not just the second half or final two and a half months. If you want to point to one area why Rockford missed out on the playoffs, it was because they couldn’t keep the puck out of the back of the net in the first half of the season. Through 38 games, Rockford’s goals against average was last at 3.68 per contest. In the final 38 tilts, the Hogs GAA was 2.31, a 1.41 difference. That is astounding!

The understatement of the year is that Carter Hutton saved the IceHogs season (or at least made it respectable). Hutton was spectacular during his time in Rockford, solidified the position for the team and made the final 20 games interesting during the playoff push.

Special Teams: D+

Special Teams have never been the forte for the Rockford IceHogs and I don’t care what era you’re talking about. There might be a season here or there that the power play was pretty decent or the penalty kill had a strong showing, but overall, it’s hasn’t been a strong point.

The 2011-12 IceHogs team won’t be remembered for their special teams. Rockford’s PP was 25th in the AHL at 15.0% while the PK was 25th at 80.5%. The team’s accumulative power play percentage is 95.5%, third worst in the AHL ahead of only Albany and San Antonio who each totaled 94.4%. Hershey had the highest at 109.9%.

Rockford’s penalty kill did show progress in the second half as it was 11.0% better in the final 38 games compared to the first 38. There was a stretch from Jan. 11 to March 2 that the IceHogs had a PK rate of 90.8% (9-98), and that was with Charlotte going 3-3 on Jan. 26. So that was a bright spot on the special teams.

Coaching: B+

This year’s coaching jobs was one of the best that I’ve seen here in Rockford in 11 years. With recalls, injuries, trades, and defections, the coaching staff was constantly making adjustments to the roster until after the NHL trade deadline when things settled in a little bit for the final month with the exception of some amateurs getting added to the roster late.

Out of the six players that Ted Dent circled on his Opening Night lineup card on Oct. 8, just one of those six skaters (Brian Fahey) finished the season with Rockford. Three of the four letters (captains) departed at some point in 2011-12, so there was a turnover in leadership as well.

I will say that even in the lean times this season, the locker room seemed to be tight and guys appeared to genuinely enjoy coming to the rink most days. I trace some of that back to the coaches and the atmosphere that they instituted.

Another huge factor was the adjustments the coaches made this season. Not just on the defensive end, but with the penalty kill and the revolving roster. I think the job that this staff did led by Dent has been underappreciated.

Overall Grade: B-

Big picture, this team made some huge strides this season, but in the end didn’t reach the postseason which was the goal. All things considered, I thought it was a successful campaign though, despite missing out on the playoffs for a second straight year.

Players like Brandon Pirri, Jeremy Morin, Ryan Stanton and Peter LeBlanc really made positive steps in their progress in their second seasons. Rookies Joe Lavin, Ben Youds, Rob Flick and Philippe Paradis showed promise as prospects. And Brandon Bollig, Andrew Shaw, Jimmy Hayes and Dylan Olsen all graduated to the NHL (although some could be back in Rockford in 2012-13).

Add in the emergence of Carter Hutton and the team, albeit a lot different on paper in April compared to October, evolved into a solid hockey club in the second half of the season.

Playoff Push and Other Notes

04/06/2012 12:43 PM - Mike Peck

Here we go again- it’s another edition of “The Biggest Weekend Of The Season” for the Rockford IceHogs. This weekend’s two-game set in Lake Erie against the Monsters is huge. With one game in-hand on Lake Erie, Rockford trails the Monsters by two points in the standings and three total points separates the Hogs from the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Rockford is 0-2-0-0 against the Monsters this season and needs a minimum of three points this weekend to stay in contention heading into the final week of the regular season.

Rostislav Olesz is out for tonight’s game and his status for Saturday’s contest is still uncertain. Defenseman Eric Baier will make his IceHogs debut tonight, becoming the 40th different player to suit up for Rockford this season.

That’s about average as the IceHogs have used 36 (2010-11; a single-season low), 41 (2009-10), 44 (2008-09) and 45 players (2007-08; a single-season high) over the previous four years. That’s an average of just over 41 players per season.

The other scratches for Rockford tonight include the suspended Rob Flick and Shawn Lalonde, injured skaters Ben Smith and Paul Zanette, along with Simon Danis-Pepin, Mark McNeill and Kent Simpson.

Random Thoughts and Notes:

-Since the turn of the calendar year, the only team in the Western Conference with a better record than Rockford is Toronto. But if Rockford slips this weekend, it might not matter as the team is still walking the tightrope towards the postseason.

-It was fun this morning seeing some former IceHogs skaters, now with the Monsters, at morning skate. Danny Richmond, Evan Brophey, Mike Brennan and Pete MacArthur are all now with Lake Erie and they are all four quality people that were a joy to have in Rockford.

We’ll have an interview with MacArthur during the second intermission report tonight. He’s a guy who’s battled a lot of injury over the past two seasons and it’s great to see him back in the AHL. No one works harder than MacArthur and I’m sure he’ll be a factor tonight.

In 21 games this season (including 20 with Lake Erie), MacArthur has 4g-9a-13pts.

-A quick thought on the Chicago Express ceasing operations. Personally, I have a lot of ties to that organization, from the owner, to the coach, GM, a few players and of course the PA Announcer. There were a lot of good people in that organization and it’s too bad things didn’t work out. Putting a team back in the Sears Centre was a risk, and it obviously didn’t work out.

When a team folds, it’s easy to brush it off, but when you realize the jobs that are lost and all the hard work that goes down the tubes, it’s disappointing.

-We got into Cleveland at 4:45 p.m. yesterday and little did I know that we still could have caught six innings of baseball if we would have made our way over to Progressive Field after unloading the gear at the Quicken Loans Arena.

A few of us we’ll make up for it tomorrow as the Indians and Blue Jays play at 1 p.m. With the “Q” located 200 feet from Progressive Field, I’d be foolish not to check it out. I know baseball is on the exact opposite end of the spectrum from hockey as action goes, but they are my two favorite sports (probably for that reason!) So needless to say this is my favorite time of year from a sports calendar perspective. Combine hockey playoff push and playoffs, the start of baseball season, NCAA tourney (basketball and hockey) and the Masters, it doesn’t get much better than that!

-Finally, I feel obligated to send out a congrats to Ben Smith and Mike Brennan’s for their BC Eagles knocking off my Gophers on Thursday in the NCAA Frozen Four. BC looks primed for another national title and if you watch on Saturday, keep an eye on Blackhawks prospect Kevin Hayes.

JUST ANOTHER WEEKEND OF HOCKEY

04/02/2012 11:11 AM - Mike Peck

Sunday’s brawl and shootout victory in Milwaukee concluded one of the craziest weekend’s of IceHogs hockey in recent memory. Taking the bench-clearing brawl out of the equation for a second, having three shootouts in three days with teams in the middle of a playoff push was unreal!

The funny thing is, the two games Rockford won (Friday and Sunday) were two games that I felt that the team could have lost, while the game they lost in the shootout (Saturday), they controlled and could have won.

Now back to the 20 on 19 melee at the Bradley Center. Rockford had 19 because Rostislav Olesz left the game in the first period with an injury. Here is the video board feed of the scrap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SVSc9iJ4c4

Check out the 3:00 mark of the video. The overheard camera catches the start of the fight when Rob Flick approaches Jeremy Smith and Smith attacks Flick. Milwaukee clearly gets to the scrum first as at one point Rockford is outnumbered about 10 to 4.

Die hard IceHogs fans might remember the big brawl at the BMO Harris Bank Center back in the IceHogs inaugural season in 1999-2000 with Quad City in the UHL. That happened as the teams were skating back to the locker room for the intermission.

The donnybrook in Milwaukee happened out of a promotional timeout and Flick and Smith were going at it for at least five seconds before anyone was able to join the party because all the players were still at the benches.

There will be suspensions from this, including more than likely Shawn Lalonde and Michael Latta for leaving the penalty boxes. They actually fought at 10:08 before the scrum, which sent the game into the promotional timeout.

So needless to say, I’ve never seen anything like that live and fans will be talking about this for years to come!

The most important thing is the Rockford is still in the playoff picture and right now is sitting better than they have all season. Needless to say that this weekend’s two games in Lake Erie are huge and the IceHogs need two more victories to stay close.

And Now, A Flair For The Dramatic

03/31/2012 2:20 PM - Mike Peck

If you missed Friday’s game against Peoria at the BMO Harris Bank Center, you missed one of the most entertaining games of the season and a game that epitomizes the playoff push.

The game was up and down (which doesn’t favor Rockford), there were highlight film saves and goals, and a late IceHogs comeback in both regulation and the shootout.

A couple things happened in the final minute of regulation that typically doesn’t go Rockford’s way: Scoring a goal with the extra attacker on the ice and scoring a clutch power-play goal.

When the puck rolled over Brian Fahey’s stick and into the neutral zone with about 20-seconds left in regulation, I thought the game was over. But Fahey picked up a Peter LeBlanc rebound and notched the equalizer with 4.1 seconds left on the clock.

The shootout was about as strange and exciting as the first 65 minutes of hockey. Peoria notched goals with their first two shooters by beating Carter Hutton low glove side. And it didn’t even look close.

Rockford’s first two shooters (Philippe Paradis and Rostislav Olesz) both tried Jake Allen’s glove and he blocked them both. So naturally, the IceHogs changed their approach and the next three shooters went five hole on Allen and all three scored.

On the flipside, T.J. Hensick was Peoria’s third shooter, and instead of going back to Hutton’s low blocker side, he decided to go high glove and was denied. After Phil McRae missed for Peoria, Anthony Nigro went with a deek attempt that Hutton got his right leg down on to win it for Rockford.

Not sure why the final three Rivermen shooters went away from the low blocker on Hutton, but Rockford’s adjustment in the shootout paid off and the IceHogs escaped with the extra point. The game felt like we got some redemption from the 7-6 overtime loss in Peoria back on Nov. 11 when McRae tallied twice in the final 90 seconds and then the Riverpeople notched the OT winner to steal the extra point.

With Kent Simpson signed, Rockford now has five players under Amateur Try Outs. Simpson joins Terry Broadhurst, Phillip Danault, Connor Goggin and Mark McNeill. If Rockford can keep in the playoff race, I wouldn’t expect much ice time (or any if you couldn’t read the sarcasm) for Simpson.

Back on March 9, I thought Rockford had to go 7-2-0-0 (or get 14 points) over their next nine games to remain in the playoff picture. Well, I’m a game late, but the team did go 7-3-0-0 over the past 10 tilts and are still in it. With seven games left, however, five or six wins are absolutely needed. The team is 12-3-0-1 over their last 16 contests going back to Feb. 24.

Ted Dent mentioned last night in our pregame show interview that the amateurs (at least the forwards) will be rotated in and out of the lineup. Last night Broadhurst and Danault were scratches and tonight they are in. McNeill is out as is Wade Brookbank, Simon Danis-Pepin and Byron Froese. Ben Smith and Paul Zanette are done for the year.

Looking forward to another intense playoff-like game tonight!

With Eight Games To Go, Still A Lot Undetermined

03/27/2012 9:48 AM - Mike Peck

On Jan. 15, a day following the IceHogs 2-1 loss in San Antonio, Rockford was last in the AHL with a record of 14-21-1-3 (32 points) and a .410 winning percentage. At that point, the team was 11 points out of the playoffs

Since then, the team is 18-8-1-2 and is now just four points out of the eighth and final playoff spot (and technically the 6th spot.) If Rockford falls short of a playoff spot, you can point to a 1-5-1-0 stretch from Feb. 3 to Feb. 18.

The team has had four such potholes on their record this season (including 2-6-0-3, 1-4-1-0 and 0-4-0-0) and 1-5-1-0 road bump might be the most damaging.

What stings most about that seven game slump, was that the IceHogs could have won at least two, if not three of those games. On Feb. 15, the IceHogs absolutely dominated the Peoria Rivermen, outshooting them 42-13, but losing 1-0.

On Feb. 17, Rockford battled back against the Toronto Marlies in Toronto from a 3-0 deficit and had a couple of chances to win the game in regulation and overtime, but dropped a 4-3 OT decision.

And finally, the next night in Hamilton, Rockford was up 2-1 late in the third when two unlucky bounces and a meltdown flunked the IceHogs 5-2.

Instead of grabbing at least four of six points in that three stretch, the IceHogs came out with just one. With Rockford outside of the playoff picture right now by four points, those three points really stick out.

Enough negativity though because this team is playing great down the stretch for a second straight season. Last season, Rockford finished the campaign’s final 24 games 17-5-1-1 (.750), but came up short in their bid for the postseason. That surge didn’t start until Feb. 25.

The IceHogs got a month-and-a-half jump start on their revival this season, as the turnaround began on Jan. 16. I mentioned at the beginning of the season how very similar I thought the 2010-11 IceHogs team was to this season’s edition, and it has played out that way with the exception of an earlier turnaround.

On Jan. 16 of this year, Rockford was 14-21-1-3 before a 2-0 victory over the Texas Stars. On Feb. 25, 2011, the IceHogs were 21-28-3-4 before a 4-2 win over the Peoria Rivermen. Both clubs bottomed out at seven games under .500 and both teams’ return to respectability was fueled by hot goalies (Hannu Toivonen last season and Carter Hutton this season).

All eight remaining IceHogs’ games are against opponents that are in the playoff mix in the Western Conference and are catchable in the standings. The schedule really couldn’t have worked out any better for Rockford.

Back on March 6th, I said that in order for the IceHogs to seriously remain in playoff contention, the team needed to go 7-2-0-0 or pick up 14 standings points. Well, I was close. The team went 6-3-0-0 over those nine tilts and are now four points out.

Anything less than 6-2-0-0 over the final eight games probably won’t get Rockford in. If the IceHogs can pull that off, that would put them at 38-31-2-5, including 24-10-1-2 (.689) over their final 37 games. The point total would equal 83, still no guarantees that will get them into the playoffs.

Again, we need to root for regulation wins in opposing games and hope teams like Oklahoma City, Toronto and Chicago, all division leaders which Rockford does not play down the stretch, can beat the teams Rockford is chasing in regulation.

Toronto’s finish could impact the IceHogs the most as they have eight games remaining, including three against Grand Rapids, two each against Rochester and Abbotsford, and one versus Hamilton.

Out of Oklahoma City’s final eight matchups, they play IceHogs’ playoff race rivals Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, Peoria, Houston, San Antonio and Hamilton.

As for Chicago, they have two against Abbotsford, along with meetings against San Antonio, Houston, Grand Rapids, Milwaukee and Peoria.

The team in my opinion that has the toughest road to the playoffs is Abbotsford, despite six of their final eight games slated for home ice. The Heat have two left against Chicago and Toronto, plus two at Charlotte. Their remaining two are against Rochester.

Grand Rapids road to the playoffs is potentially rocky as well. The Griffins will play five of their final 10 games against division leaders- Toronto (3), Chicago and Oklahoma City.

Milwaukee has the most games left in the AHL (11), but are about to embark on a seven game road swing before closing out the season against Charlotte on April 15. The Admirals will face the Checkers three times down the stretch and their contest at the Bradley Center on April 15 could determine whether Rockford gets into the playoffs.

Realistically, with three weeks remaining in the regular season, only Oklahoma City and Toronto are locks for the Calder Cup Playoffs in the Western Conference. On the flip side, only the Texas Stars are out of the picture in the West while Hamilton is hanging on by a thread.

Including Hamilton, there are 12 teams fighting for six playoff spots. This is as about as good of a playoff race as I’ve ever seen and it’s going to take a hot finish to get the IceHogs into the postseason.

McNeill Set For Pro Debut

03/23/2012 2:49 PM - Mike Peck

Tonight’s Rockford IceHogs lineup will feature three former first round draft picks. Last June’s top pick for the Chicago Blackhawks, Mark McNeill, will be making his pro debut with the team after completing his junior season with the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders.

Joining McNeill as first rounders are Kyle Beach and Philippe Paradis.

Beach hasn’t played since Oct. 28 and if his shoulder injury would have happened a week or two later, he probably would have been shut down for the year. He’s worked hard to get back into the lineup and hopefully he can finish this season like he started. I thought Beach was very effective early on before his injury.

For Beach and McNeill, I’d keep the expectations toned down a bit. It’ll take Beach the weekend to get back into the flow of game speed (and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a healthy scratch on Saturday or Sunday just to ease him back in.) And McNeill is making the jump from the junior level where he was skating against kids as young as 16 to the pro level against some guys who have been in the pros for almost 16 years.

One thing to remember about McNeill is that he can’t play in Rockford next season until after his junior season in Prince Albert comes to an end. He, of course, can make the Blackhawks roster in the fall. So after this 11 game stint with the IceHogs, don’t count on McNeill to be in Rockford until at least next spring if he doesn’t make the big club out of 2012 training camp.

Terry Broadhurst won’t play tonight, but I’d expect him in the lineup before the weekend expires. He’s a guy who’d I expect will be in Rockford come October.

Here’s a complete list of First Round Draft Selections to play for the IceHogs:
Mark McNeill, 18th overall (2011) by Blackhawks
Dylan Olsen, 28th overall (2009) by Blackhawks
Philippe Paradis, 27th overall (2009) by Carolina
Kyle Beach, 11th overall (2008) by Blackhawks
Ivan Vishnevskiy, 27th overall (2006) by Dallas
Jack Skille, 7th overall (2005) by Blackhawks
Cam Barker, 3rd overall (2004) by Blackhawks
Hugh Jessiman, 12th overall (2003) by New York Rangers
Hannu Toivonen, 29th overall (2002) by Bruins
Jeff Taffe, 30th overall (2000) by St. Louis
Nick Boynton, 21st overall (1999) by Bruins and 9th overall (1997) by Capitals
Sergei Samsonov, 8th overall (1997) by Bruins
Daniel Cloutier, 26th overall (1994) by Rangers
Jassen Cullimore, 29th overall (1991) by Vancouver

Bracket Buster Edition Of Blog Hogs

03/16/2012 2:15 PM - Mike Peck

Ok, so my bracket isn’t totally ruined, but with just three losses on day one (thanks UConn, UNLV and West Virginia), I figured the other shoe would drop today. So far today (as I write this) it has, as I believe I’ve lost two of the first four games.

Anyways, back to hockey for now. The humidity down here in Houston is going to really have an effect on the ice as it usually does (with the exception of late Nov. through early Feb.) down here. Guys were talking after morning skate how warm it was on the ice at the Toyota Center and it will really slow down the game.

Short passes and short shifts are going to be keys tonight for Rockford. This is probably the slowest ice in the league and with the heat, it’s almost like playing at a high altitude. Guys seem to get winded a lot quicker.

As for the team’s backup goalie tonight, it will be Genoa’s Andrew Volkening. He’s a great story and it only makes it better that he’s from the Rockford area. Volkening attended the Air Force Academy where he put up solid numbers for the Falcons and is currently serving his second year of his two-year post-graduate commitment to the AFA on a base in San Antonio.

Volkening has backed up for the Rampage a few times over the past two seasons and I’d guess pro hockey is in his future if he so chooses after his Air Force duties are complete.

Brandon Pirri will miss tonight’s game and it’s a safe bet he’ll miss tomorrow’s game in San Antonio. Paul Zanette is still dealing with a jaw injury and is out and Simon Danis-Pepin will be the lone healthy scratch as Connor Goggin will make his pro debut.

Goggin played at Dartmouth with former Rockford Icemen Troy Matilla and is looking forward to playing in Rockford. With Goggin, Rockford will have three Illinois natives on tonight’s roster. Goggin resides in Glen Ellyn, Volkening is from Genoa and Brian Fahey is from Glenview. I can’t remember a time when the IceHogs had three Illinois natives on the team!

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